Any student who wishes to express himself correctly and pleasingly, and
desires a keener sense for the appreciation of literary work must
write. The way others have done the thing never appears in a forceful
light until one sets himself at a task of like nature. Just so in the
study of this text. To find and appreciate the better points of the
short-story, students must write stories of their own, patterned in a
small way on the technique of the masterpieces.
The process of short-story writing follows in a general way the
following program. In the first place the class must have something
interesting and suggestive to write about. Sometimes the class can
suggest a subject; newspapers almost every day give incidents worthy of
story treatment; happenings in the community often give the very best
material for stories; and phases of the literature work may well be
used in the development of students' themes. Change the type of
character and place, reconstruct the plot, or require a different
ending for the story, leaving the plot virtually as it is, and then
assign to the class. Boys and girls should invariably be taught to see
stories in the life about them, in the newspapers and magazines on
their library tables, and in the masterpieces they study in their class
work.
After the idea that the class wishes to develop has been definitely
determined and the material for this development has been gathered and
grouped about the idea, the class should select a viewpoint and proceed
to write. Sometimes the author should tell the story, sometimes a third
person who may be of secondary importance in the story should be given
the rôle of the story-teller, sometimes the whole may be in dialogue.
The class should choose a fitting method.
Young writers should be very careful about the beginning of a story. An
action story should start with a striking incident that catches the
reader's attention at once and forecasts subsequent happenings. In
every case this first incident must have in it the essence of the end
of the story and should be perfectly logical to the reader after he has
finished the reading. A story in which the setting is emphasized can
well begin, with a description and contain a number of descriptions and
expositions, distributed with a sense of propriety throughout the
theme. A good method to use in the opening of a character story is that
of conversation. An excellent example of a sharp use of this device is
Mrs. Freeman's _Revolt of Mother_, where the first paragraph is a
single spoken word.
Every incident included in the story should be tested for its value in
the development of the theme. An incident that does not amplify certain
phases of the story has no right to be included, and great care should
be used in an effort to incorporate just the material necessary for the
proper evolution of the thought. The problem is not so much what can be
secured to be included in the story, but rather, after making a
thorough collection of the material, what of all these points should be
cast out.
The ending must be a natural outgrowth of the development found in the
body of the composition. Even in a story with a surprise ending, of
which we are tempted to say that we have had no preparation for such a
turn in the story, there must be hints—the subtler the better—that
point unerringly and always toward the end. The end is presupposed in
the beginning and the changing of one means the altering of the other.
Young writers have trouble in stopping at the right place. They should
learn, as soon as possible, that to drag on after the logical ending
has been reached spoils the best of stories. It is just as bad to stop
before arriving at the true end. In other words there is only one place
for the ending of a story, and in no case can it be shifted without
ruining the idea that has obtained throughout the theme.
There are certain steps in the development of story-writing that should
be followed if the best results are to be obtained. The first
assignment should require only the writing of straight narrative. _The
Arabian Nights Tales_ and children's stories represent this type of
writing and will give the teacher valuable aid in the presentation of
this work. After the students have produced simple stories resembling
the Sinbad Voyages, they should next add descriptions of persons and
places and explanations of situations to develop clearness and interest
in their original productions. Taking these themes in turn students
should be required to introduce plot incidents that complicate the
simple happenings and divert the straightforward trend of the
narrative. Now that the stories are well developed in their
descriptions, expositions, and plot interests they should be tested for
their emotional effects. Students should go through their themes, and
by making the proper changes give in some cases a humorous and in
others a pathetic or tragic effect. These few suggestions are given to
emphasize the facts that no one conceives a story in all its details in
a moment of inspiration, and that there is a way of proceeding that
passes in logical gradations from the simplest to the most complex
phases of story writing.
Franklin and Stevenson knew no rules for writing other than to practice
incessantly on some form they wished to imitate. Hard work is the first
lesson that boys and girls must learn in the art of writing, and a
systematic gradation of assignments is what the teacher must provide
for his students. Walter Besant gave the following rules for novel
writers. Some of them may be suggestive to writers of the high school
age, so the list is given in its complete form. "(1) Practice writing
something original every day. (2) Cultivate the habit of observation.
(3) Work regularly at certain hours. (4) Read no rubbish. (5) Aim at
the formation of style. (6) Endeavor to be dramatic. (7) A great
element of dramatic skill is selection. (8) Avoid the sin of writing
about a character. (9) Never attempt to describe any kind of life
except that with which you are familiar. (10) Learn as much as you can
about men and women. (11) For the sake of forming a good natural style,
and acquiring command of language, write poetry."